The Paths To Understanding Podcast

Women make up twenty percent of the U.S. military. They pilot helicopters and tactical aircraft, and serve in special operations forces such as the Army Rangers and Green Berets. Five of the eighteen US soldiers reported killed in the war on Iran have been women. Their deaths and the active service provided by thousands of other women come at a time when the Trump administration has fired high ranking women in the military and refused to promote others, despite the recommendations of professional military leaders. In this episode of Challenge 2.0, we meet a retired Air Force pilot to learn her perspective of how women contribute to our nation’s defense, and the impact of new policies discriminating against women in the Armed Forces.

Black Americans make up seventeen percent of post-9/11 members of the military, which exceeds their proportion of the U.S. population. Although black Americans have served in every conflict since and including the American revolution, they have faced discrimination, disrespect and even physical intimidation and violence-trends that have increased since 2025. Two widely reported examples include was the removal of the portrait of four-star general Daniel James from the U.S. Air Force Art Gallery. James was the first black American to reach that rank; and the removal of General C.Q. Brown as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In this edition of Challenge 2.0, we speak with a prominent member of the National Association of Black Veterans about the impact of such actions on men and women actively serving in the military, those who have completed their service, and those who might consider enlisting.

Hate crimes and hate groups have increased sharply since the year 2000. Although hatred is often described as an emotion, psychologists assert it’s actually a learned behavior-a behavior that damages those that hate as much as those who are the subject of that hate. In this edition of Challenge 2.0, faith leaders from Christianity, Judaism and Islam examine the costly culture of contempt in the U.S., and possible ways to break the cycle that feeds it.

Fewer Americans vote in elections than in most other western democracies. A Pew Research study ranked U.S. voter participation 31st out of 35 western democracies. It pointed to restrictive voting laws and manipulation of voting districts. Analysts have called current efforts to eliminate, reduce or manipulate voting as effectively gagging American citizens, preventing their ability to influence their future and that of their children. In this episode of Challenge 2.0, we speak with leaders from the League of Women Voters-a group that has a long history in effectively confronting threats to voting rights.

In last week’s edition of Challenge 2.0, two Seattle area faith leaders examined the controversial claim that ‘God approves of the U.S. attack on Iran’. This week, we continue that conversation, examining whether war and violence can be divinely inspired, and what faith requires of each of us. 

More than 200 American soldiers from all branches of service have filed formal complaints against the US military, alleging their commanders told them the Iran war was ‘part of God’s plan’. One complaint quoted an officer as saying President Trump had been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark the return of Jesus to earth. The pushback from leading faith leaders was strong and immediate. Pope Leo of the Roman Catholic Church stated “No one can use Jesus to justify war”. In this episode of Challenge 2.0, two leading Seattle area faith leaders offer perspectives on this conflict within a conflict.

In last week’s edition of Challenge 2.0, we began a conversation with two highly experienced western Washington law enforcement officials. One, a retired prosecutor-the other, a retired police chief are deeply concerned over the long-term impact of aggressive seizures of alleged illegal immigrants and refugees. We now continue that conversation

Political, legal and faith leaders have been increasingly criticizing the ICE and Border Patrol raids and tactics. Law enforcement officials are increasingly joining in those criticisms. In this edition of Challenge 2.0, we speak with a retired prosecutor and a retired police chief, both with decades of experience in the Puget Sound area. They contend the methods used by federal agents to impose law and order, may actually increase lawlessness and disorder.

American religious leaders are becoming increasingly vocal in their opposition to federal seizures of alleged illegal immigrants and refugees. A leading Catholic biweekly newspaper asserted members of the faith must decide between loyalty to leaders supporting the raids or loyalty to the Gospel. Lutheran churches have filed lawsuits against the Department of Homeland Security. An Episcopal Bishop told his clergy that “it may be that now is no longer the time for statements, but for us with our bodies to stand between the powers of this world and the most vulnerable.” In this episode of Challenge 2.0, three Seattle faith leaders discuss the ICE raids and tactics.

Millie Smith was one of 20,000 American children secretly exposed to radioactive gases; gases released from the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in eastern Washington. She later told Congress she developed metastasized Thyroid Cancer, describing classmates who died, illness-induced poverty that forced her to subsist at times on rice and popcorn. “We are as abused children, victims of our own country”, she testified. Despite the stories of Millie and others and the investigative reporting that uncovered the suppression of evidence, governments and corporations are today increasingly seeking to roll back disclosure and safety standards. In this second episode of ‘The Atomic Pilgrim’, we look at lessons learned and lessons spurned.